MacDowell Colony
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| MacDowell Colony | |
|---|---|
| (U.S. National Historic Landmark District) | |
| Location: | 100 High Street, Peterborough, New Hampshire |
| Built/Founded: | 1908 |
| Designated as NHL: | December 29, 1962[1] |
| Added to NRHP: | October 15, 1966[2] |
| NRHP Reference#: | 66000026 |
| Governing body: | Private |
Coordinates: The MacDowell Colony is an art colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire, founded in 1907 by Marian MacDowell, wife of composer Edward MacDowell, largely with donated funds.
At least 61 Pulitzer Prizes have been received by the roughly 5,100 artists who have been in residence over the years.
Stays average four to five weeks and are limited to two months. Room and board are free, and some residents receive help with travel expenses as well. Each artist is assigned one of 32 studios for their personal use on a 24-hour-a-day basis; each of these is a separate building with power, heat, simple amenities, lunch delivered, no telephone, and the expectation that interruptions will be by invitation only. In nearly every case, the studios are out of view of each other.
The artists are a community of between 20 and 30, sharing breakfast and dinner in a common dining room, and frequently engaging in group activities in the evenings.
It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1962.[1][3]
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[edit] Notable colony-created works
- Thornton Wilder wrote his play "Our Town" (which won a Pulitzer in 1938).
- Aaron Copland worked on composing Appalachian Spring (a 1945 Pulitzer winner).
- Virgil Thompson worked on composing Mother of Us All.
- Leonard Bernstein finished his Mass.
- Ruth Crawford Seeger worked on composing 5 Songs Set to Poems by Carl Sandburg.
- Michael Chabon worked on his Pulitzer Prize-winning The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay in the Heyward studio
- Dubose Heyward worked on Porgy & Bess
[edit] History
MacDowell had concluded, from experience including his involvement in founding the American Academy in Rome (the benefactor of American Prix de Rome awards) that interdisciplinary associations among artists were valuable. The MacDowells bought a farm in Peterborough in 1896, where he judged the surroundings during summers to enhance his creativity as a composer of music. They formulated a plan for providing both kinds of benefits through an institutionalized residential art colony, and in 1906 raised funds for the purpose, contributed by former U.S. President Grover Cleveland, industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, the financier J. P. Morgan, and other prominent people.
The first residents came the next year, and the program continues in dozens of buildings scattered over 450 acres (1.8 km²) of land.
[edit] Medal Day
Every year, the Colony presents the Edward MacDowell Medal to an artist who has made a significant cultural contribution; residency at the Colony is not a requirement. Medal Day is one of the rare occasions when the Colony is open to the public. The ceremony includes a keynote speech, after which the artists open their studios to visitors.[4]
[edit] Tax status
The colony has, since its inception in 1907, operated as a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization. In 2005, amid the annual application process every charitable organization in New Hampshire makes to its town government for property tax exemption, Peterborough’s selectmen challenged MacDowell's charitable status and proposed that MacDowell make a “payment in lieu of taxes” (PILOT). MacDowell’s board of directors unanimously rejected this proposal, saying the colony is a charity devoted to the public good.
The town issued the Colony a tax bill. The colony paid the bill, but its board of directors took the case to Hillsborough Superior Court. Oral arguments on the case were heard in December of 2006, resulting in Judge Gillian Abramson’s strong ruling in favor of the Colony. She wrote: "By fostering the creation of the arts, MacDowell serves a charitable purpose for the benefit of the general public through its artist-in-residence program."
After the verdict, the Peterborough selectmen appealed the case to the New Hampshire Supreme Court. Oral arguments for the appeal were heard on January 16, 2008. On March 14, 2008, the New Hampshire Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the Superior Court ruling and issued an unequivocal opinion declaring that The MacDowell Colony, by promoting the arts, is a charitable institution.[5]
In its decision, the Court said: “The trial court [concluded] that by ‘supporting the artistic process,’ MacDowell benefits ‘at the very least, artists across the world, and, in a broader sense, the general public.’ The [trial] court further concluded that MacDowell’s artist-in-residence ‘program primarily benefits society as a whole.’ We agree."
"While MacDowell does provide services to the Colony Fellows, its charitable purpose is, as the trial court determined, ‘promotion of the arts.’ The provision of that service benefits a far greater segment of society than the artists who actually use MacDowell’s property."
[edit] References
- ^ a b MacDowell Colony. National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved on 2007-10-22.
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
- ^ S. Sydney Bradford and Polly M. Rettig (January 06, 1976), National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: MacDowell ColonyPDF (447 KiB), National Park Service and Accompanying 5 photos, from 1907 and 1975.PDF (777 KiB)
- ^ "Medal Day". The MacDowell Colony. Retrieved on 2008-03-17.
- ^ Town of Peterborough v. The MacDowell Colony, Inc.. The Supreme Court of New Hampshire (2008-03-14). Retrieved on 2008-03-17.
[edit] External links
- MacDowell Colony
- Dec. 21, 2006 AP story about tax case
- Story from NPR All Things Considered program, March 6, 2007
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